New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Monday that Hillary Clinton’s diagnosis of pneumonia did not warrant a public disclosure.
"You know, I don’t think having a diagnosis like that requires public disclosure," de Blasio, a strong Clinton supporter, said to Blitzer, who asked if the campaign should have disclosed her illness to the American people right as it happened rather than days later and hours after her fainting spell Sunday.
"As you know, she was diagnosed, Hillary Clinton, with pneumonia on Friday," Blitzer said. "Shouldn’t she have been transparent and released that information to the public right away?"
De Blasio said he thinks Clinton deserved a couple days of rest, just like any other person who is sick.
"I think she had every right to spend a few days recuperating, just like anyone else who’s sick," he said.
The New York City mayor also cited her battle with allergies and taking antihistamines, but said every illness does not need to be disclosed to the public.
"As you know, she had allergy issues, as so many of us do," de Blasio said. "She was taking antihistamines for that. That may have been one of the things that dehydrated her. I don’t think you have to alert the public every time you’re sick. You go to the doctor, they say here’s a medication you have to take. I think that’s more of a perception question than an actual values question."
He ended with talking about his "bottom line," which centered around if Clinton was ready for the rigorous nature of the job that she is pursuing. He gave her tenure as secretary of state as examples for her readiness.
De Blasio added that the health scare surrounding Clinton is made up by Donald Trump, dismissing the video showing Clinton fainting at a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City on Sunday.
"Look, Donald Trump is trying to create a health scare around Hillary Clinton," he said. "The irony is, we don’t even know how healthy Donald Trump is. So, I think some of this is the posturing of the Trump campaign that’s caught a little bit of fire now. But I don’t think the essential truth is actually a concern. We know a lot about Hillary Clinton."
He finished by saying that the public knows that Clinton is healthy.
"We know she’s healthy," he said.